Published 11:02 am, Monday, November 30, 2015

Hale County commissioners will hold a work session beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday to consider revisions to the county’s personnel manual.

The session is open to the public and will be held in the commissioners’ workroom in the courthouse, 500 Broadway.

In October commissioners discussed clarifying the county’s policy on employees’ use of social media. The issue was ultimately tabled to give the Texas Association of Counties time to review the county’s policy manual to make sure it’s in compliance with state and federal regulations.

County Judge Bill Coleman on Monday said that review has been completed.

The two major issues now before commissioners are clarifying policies on social media and on rehiring former and/or retired employees.

“We need to specify how long they must sit out before they are eligible for rehire,” he explained, “particularly as it relates to participating in the county’s retirement program.”

In some cases, longtime county employees can retire and start drawing retirement, then be rehired and get both their salary and retirement benefits. “If the state found out that any sort of agreement was made ahead of time that the retiree would be rehired, then the whole county could get kicked out of the retirement system,” Coleman explained. “We need to spell out ahead of time that before anyone retires, everyone concerned must sign off that no such agreement or promise has been made.”

The commissioners also will be looking at expanding the county’s social media guidelines for employees.

In an October work session Coleman explained, “It’s extremely vague so that an employee could argue ‘it’s not in the policy’ if called in by a department head or elected official. We need to make in more detailed.”

While commissioners were completing work on the 2016 budget, several sheriff’s office employees attended public hearings where they suggested the county reward certified peace officers and jailers with “certificate pay” to recognize those who complete additional training and receive advanced certificates. They argued that the added compensation would help retain veteran officers who would otherwise opt to retire or relocate for higher salaries.

A particularly contentious budget hearing in late September drew a number of caustic comments on Facebook from county employees.

“We have seen where social media can result in job- and career-ending pursuits,” Coleman said in October. “And I don’t want us being embarrassed by something that an employee posts while on duty, and even off duty.”

On Monday, Coleman indicated that the Texas Association of Counties offers specific suggestions for policies concerning social media. However, those policies must still be enforced by department heads.